Beltane, huh?

Oh what a day Wednesday was. Slight chaos at work with phones ringing off the hook with puzzled old ladies and their relatives. I spent the morning running to and fro trying to figure out what had gone awry. Off to school, where I once again featured as Blanche DuBois, opposed by Tracey's Stanley Kowalski. I don't think Streetcar has ever been so thoroughly entertaining, nor has a rape been so amusedly anticipated. Meet up with Ollie to pick up some music before he dashes off to meet The Chad*, head home and have a quick sing before running up to Calton Hill for Beltane. Shaun, whose ticket I had, eventually arrived in a taxi and we went up the hill... I have to say, I spent a number of years involved with Beltane to some extent or another, and drifted away largely because I didn't feel comfortable with the burgeoning hippy influence. Every year there was the debate about whether the procession should change because it goes around the hill widdershins but, Beltane being the heradling of summer, it really should be going deosil. And of course that argument would drift away when people realised that it just Wasn't Practical. on the site. So, generally, I know what it's all about.

*I should explain The Chad. Many, many moons ago, Ollie's friend Jen used to enjoy meeting men on the internet (latterly, she 'meets' them in Real Life, but since she's eating for two now I think perhaps she's cut back); one of them she ran away from home to live with, in London, but that ended badly and they both swore never to meet people off the internet again (phew! glad that resolution was so easily broken!). One of these men, though, was in Canada and fairly safe because of it. After a while Jen moved onto more visceral encounters and Chad was forgotten... until he Friended Ollie on Facebook. And then announced that he was going to be in the UK and how about he came to Edinburgh to meet Ollie (no mention of meeting Jen; perhaps he realised that he would be in danger of exhaustion...)? Since The Chad was arriving on April 30th, I said we should take him to Beltane, especially as Ollie had never been and Emma had been wowed by the improvement in the ceremony last year. And of course there would be photo opportunities hehehe.

So, Anyway. It all kicked off about twenty minutes late. I made Ollie's gang, Helen Beauchamp & Chris and Shaun get a decent view of the Acropolis and started lurking. Off to the side there were some Christians with a banner of some sort, but before I could take a photo they had rolled it up and scarpered. Probably off to pray for rain on the filthy pagans.

The moment when the drums started I confess I felt it. For that second or so, I could have been swept away by the atmosphere and abandoned this worldly realm with glee. Thankfully(?) I had a camera to look after so I just kept at it. Once the White Women had started their agonising manouevers I scurried off to the Fire Arch, which was the thing I most wanted to capture on, er, memorycard. So I was well prepared long before the procession inched its way into the underworld, even catching some of the ceremony's opening from behind!

Of course, once things were moving people started to cluster around me. Red Men crouching, be-hooded, in front of me, tripod firmly placed and a gradual crowd developing (and a few spots of rain on my screen. Hm....). Annoyingly I couldn't focus on the happenings in front of the Fire Arch, but generally I was very happy with my placement as I caught some nicely Otherworldly images of the May Queen and her coterie passing through. There was an older chap who was in danger of death, though, since he started to LEAN FORWARD and get between me and everything else, apparently while peering at his camera. But I restrained myself, and then went off to find my people and/or go to Fire Point.

I've never been a big fan of Air Point or Water Point. Banners and windchimes don't do it for me, and ever since someone suggested that Water Point enact 'the stillness of a pond' for the May Queen I have had no respect for them. I mean, there's hippies and then there's hippies... I was somewhat sad to miss getting a better view of Earth Point - they seemed to be doing something interesting with big antlered heads fighting - but it wouldn't have photographed well, to I reprioritised. Found Shaun, found Ollie, Stephen and The Chad, then left them all at water point, "Behind the big fish made of tinfoil".

Fire Point is always an odd one. It's on a small flat surrounded by steep slopes up or down, so it's very hard to get a decent view. Since there's a fascinating sense of competition there, having to outdo last year's performance, I though I really had to get a reliable vantage point. Halfway up the hilly bit, tripod set up around me, I was set for a great show. Back when I was first involved with the Beltaners, fire took the form of bonfire, fire sculptures, torches, clubs or staffs, with the occasional fire brether and once or twice a great big wire wall on a chain, filled with fire of course. Gradually poi were introduced - to the point where clubs are now a rarity(!) - and they evolved into double-wicked poit, two-wicked poi, poi with paper rope threaded through to make a WALL OF FIRE; nunchucks, bungee staff (a staff attached to a bungee cord so that, when the wick is first lit, you can create a massive blast of fire in the air) and, the last time I looked, fire fingers (wire attached to the fingers with tiny wicks at the end) and a fire neckbrace thing (with four wick-tipped sticks jutting out from the neck thing).

Sticking to the tradition of excess, Fire Point this year featured lots of poi, a fire sculpture, some more poi, fire fingers, fire skirt and fire horns (they may have been antlers, I couldn't be sure). So I took lots and lots of photos, despite the sky's continued attempts to rain on the Beltane Fire Society's parade.

It was not long after this that the sky stopped trying to rain......

excuse me, my glasses just snapped and I have to do something about it.....

...and started to RAIN. Lordy it were heavy. We shuffled around a bit, reconvened by the Healthy Options van (part of the cheeseburger van, but with Baked Potatoes as well) and put our heads together. Whil we were doing this, a strange hooded (but not painted) man leant into Ollie's face and said "FSHOO", repeatedly. Ollie made the most wonderful faces at this and tried not to giggle too much at the crazy foreigner who had clearly had his brain melted by something. After a while he moved onto me, at which point I realised he was saying "For Sure", but finding it hilarious and over slurring it on purpose. It was a little disturbing because he was leaning in as if he was going for my lips, but he didn't.Ollie and co. went to the pub, Shaun and I meandered and then hid in a bus stop until the rain died down a little before getting a taxi, all the buses having stopped by this point. On my return I had to peel my clothes off as they were pretty much welded to me with water. Bleugh.